When software developers release steady new feature sets at a consistent pace, it’s usually a good thing – and Serato seems to really be winning that race right now.

Today is the official launch of their new public beta for Serato DJ Pro 2.1, offering three major new updates. TIDAL users can stream AAC and FLAC tracks directly into Serato DJ Pro and Lite decks, the Serato Play Expansion Pack means you can use the software without any hardware, and the Rane Seventy Two gets powerful Serato FX as post-fader options.

Serato DJ Pro 2.1 Public Beta

If you want to get involved and download the Public Beta, the best way to do it is to by going onto the Serato official forums. There’s two beta forums – one for Serato DJ Pro 2.1 and one for Serato DJ Lite 1.1.

Here’s a quick overview:

Streaming with TIDAL

“Discover the best new music via TIDAL and stream it direct in Serato DJ Pro. Start a 1-month free trial today and access millions of tracks to DJ with from their extensive catalogue.”

This is the beginning of what we expect will be an industry-wide deluge of streaming integrations that will take place over the next 6 months. Serato wins for getting their integration out first in this new round of streaming services jumping into the fray.

The current integration of TIDAL is pretty easy to use – and is entirely based around what tracks you have added to playlists in TIDAL’s system. You can’t search the entire collection from within Serato DJ, but instead DJs have to have added tracks they want to stream or playlists they want to pull from. In the below screenshot, you can see that I’m able to load tracks from a “Techno & Minimal” playlist that I manually added to my collection in the TIDAL web app.

Streaming a Josh Wink track in full FLAC in Serato DJ Pro’s new beta

The tracks load quickly on a cable internet connection, and you can set metadata information for them – which gets saved locally.

Depending on your TIDAL subscription level, you can either stream tracks in AAC or FLAC quality – and this is adjustable in the Serato DJ preferences under “Library + Display”:

Adjusting streaming preferences in Serato DJ

This preference pane also is likely to be where Soundcloud’s streaming will appear (not yet available) and where Beatport Link might appear as well.

One important note: as with Pulselocker’s streaming integration, having tracks from TIDAL loaded into your decks makes it impossible to record your set using Serato DJ’s built-in recorder. This is almost certainly to reduce piracy of tracks – but it won’t stop DJs from recording their mixes through other means.

Streaming disabled in Serato DJ when you’re streaming tracks.

Serato Play

“Expansion Pack for Serato DJ Pro and Lite that enables you to DJ without any hardware connected and access features such as EQ, FX, Filters, your other expansion packs and more.”

The basic mixer that is unlocked with Serato Play

I’m a huge fan of this new Expansion Pack for Serato DJ Pro and Lite. It might feel like nothing fancy, but it allows DJs to use the full version of the software without requiring any hardware to be plugged in. There’s even a (reallybasic) mixer that DJs can use to mix with. It’s not ideal, but it makes it far more useful if there’s a hardware issue, or if you ever are asked to play a set with just an AUX cable… something that DJs have been able to do on Rekordbox, Virtual DJ, and Traktor for years.

Serato Play will be $39 to unlock, and is also being included in the Serato DJ Suite (standalone or subscription options) and the Expansion Pack subscription. If you already have any of those, you’ll get Serato Play for free. Also, all the free trials in Serato DJ Pro have been reset – so if you want to try out Serato Play (or any expansion pack), it’s free to do so.

Rane Seventy-Two firmware update

For DJs who have snatched up the powerful Rane Seventy-Two mixer, this new firmware update contains a welcome set of new features, including very necessary post-fader FX:

New/Updated Features of SEVENTY-TWO 1.3 Public Beta:

Added support for Serato Post-Fader FX

Improved pad response time and overall performance

Track end warning now displayed on waveform screen

Improved screen readout stability

Quick Auto-Loop triggers have been added to FX Encoder control while in waveform view

As always, remember that any beta version of a software should be used with extreme caution – don’t gig out with it unless you are prepared with complete redundant DJ systems. Especially important to remember this with an untested feature like TIDAL streaming, which might introduce any number of unique issues. Generally, if you’re playing pro gigs regularly, wait for the final release before using these features outside of your studio/bedroom.

When the beat drops, anything is bound to happen. At one house party in South Carolina, the floor caved in — and it was all captured on camera.

It all went down, pun intended, at a condo/clubhouse near Clemson University. The party was rolling a little too deep on Sunday evening when the floor gave out. Dozens of people dropped a floor down into the basement, piling on top of each other. Luckily, no one was seriously injured, although one witness describes a graphic scene.

Clemson sophomore Larissa Stone says the room was “packed” when a popular song came on. “So everyone was jumping. The beat was about to drop and literally the whole floor collapsed,” she said.

“It happened so quickly. I stood up, and everyone was trying to climb out. People are under other people. People are hurt. People are bleeding. I had blood on my sneakers. It was really bad.”

This is truly a “when the beat drops…” meme gone wrong. We’re just glad everyone is ok.

When the Beat Drops…

]]>alexxchangara@gmail.com (Magnetic Radio)BlogTue, 23 Oct 2018 17:26:19 +0300DJs Will Now Be Able To Mix Songs Directly From SoundCloudhttp://magneticradio.net/blog/djs-will-now-be-able-to-mix-songs-directly-from-soundcloud
http://magneticradio.net/blog/djs-will-now-be-able-to-mix-songs-directly-from-soundcloud

Have you ever gotten to a gig a realized that you forgot to download that awesome song you heard on SoundCloud earlier that day? Now you won’t have to worry as SoundCloud has just announced at ADE that it is partnering with Native Instruments, Serato, and more to integrate their music catalog into their leading DJ performance software.

SoundCloud’s catalogue boasts an incredible 190 million tracks – now, DJs will have them all at their fingertips. However, if you want to use the feature, you’ll need to have a SoundCloud Go+ subscription (an additional $4.99 per month if you already have Pro or Pro Unlimited).

In order to assuage fears of quality, SoundCloud announced yesterday that music uploaded in high bitrate or lossless format can now be streamed back at AAC 256 kbps via an opt-in setting exclusively on SoundCloud Go+. (AAC 256 kbps is comparable to a 320 kbps MP3.)

“Until recently, digital workflows for DJs were limited to downloads and physical media, but streaming workflows are the future,” said Kerry Trainor, Chief Executive Officer, SoundCloud. “SoundCloud is committed to empowering creators with the best tools and resources to grow their careers, which is why we are excited to partner with these leading companies to help DJs take their workflow to the next level. Through these partnership, DJs will have the largest, most diverse streaming music catalog ever assembled instantly accessible within the tools they use everyday.”

Laidback Luke is one of the most respected artists of all time in electronic music. He helped find and propagate the infectious Dutch House sound.

Laidback Luke is also more or less a certified Kung-Fu master, and a dedicated dad. He is the pinnacle of balance for DJs and artists all over the world. In his most recent vlog, he invited his friends DJ Chuckie and Dannic on to share their thoughts about Hardwell's unexpected retirement.

After many untimely deaths of artists this past year, a discussion surrounding mental health has been gaining traction in the dance music industry. While fans were shocked that Hardwell announced his indefinite retirement, for many friends – it made perfect sense.

Both Chuckie and Dannic spoke about their memories with Hardwell and explained for the entirety of his career he has always been a go-getter, putting his career and success above everything in his life. Unfortunately, this mindset will eventually burn you out. Hardwell is now 30 and starting to realize that his lifestyle is not sustainable.

Check out the vlog below to hear Laidback Luke, Dannic and DJ Chuckie share their thoughts on why Hardwell's decision was the right one.

Idris Elba is a renowned actor around the globe, famous for roles in everything from The Wire to Thor. Elba also famously moonlights as a DJ and producer, playing festivals like Tomorrowland and even launching his own record label.

It’s only inevitable Elba will collaborate with an artist outside the dance world, and it sounds like A$AP Rocky may be a likely candidate.

Elba teased a possible, eventual Rocky collaboration during an interview with Matt Wilkinson on the Beats 1 radio station on Apple Music. Elba mentioned he and Rocky share a mutual friend in the form of Rocky’s engineer and producer. He admitted the collaboration with Rocky wouldn’t necessarily be music; Rocky has acted in films before and apparently wants to act more. Elba also mentioned how he and Skepta are friends, and that Skepta is connected to Rocky. All the pieces for a collaboration line up, but it seems to be a matter of “when,” not “if.”

Fingers crossed a collaboration between Elba and Rocky pans out one day! Watch the full Beats 1 interview below:

The next iteration of the iPhone series is due to be revealed next month in September, but as usual, tech guru and master vlogger MKBHD has us covered with some early reviews of beta models of the new phone.

Following the rumors of the past year, there will very likely be three new models: a base model iPhone X with some upgraded specs; a sort of X Plus which will feature a 6.5″ display, which is a large upgrade over the 5.8″ of the base phone. Finally, there will be an iPhone X “Lite” as MKBHD is calling it for now, which be smaller than the base model, and is expected to use an LCD display. However, the Lite is expected to come in a bunch of new colors, much like the 5c.

The phones’ sizes are likely to reflect their prices, with the Plus expected to come in at $100-200 more than the base, and the Lite at around $700-800. However, as MKBHD notes, “There are a lot of things Apple will be doing to make it feel and make you know it’s the cheaper one.”

The benefit of Apple’s connective network has made it popular among producers who work from their laptops and phones almost exclusively, so expect a bunch of DJs to be rocking these new phones come 2019.

The music streaming wars are on. Apple Music may be inching closer to passing Spotify globally, but Spotify is making moves to keep its top spot. Its biggest move yet? Spotify has formed a partnership with Samsung.

Spotify has become the official music streaming service for all Samsung devices, including Galaxy, Note, and other devices. Under the partnership, all Samsung phones will come with Spotify pre-installed. Samsung’s voice assistant program Bixby will also work with Spotify’s app, and new device set-up will include setting up Spotify.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ekdetailed the partnership in a Q&A posted on Spotify’s website. Ek said the partnership will allow users to seamlessly switch listening across their Samsung devices. This means if you listen to a playlist on your phone, you could easily switch the playback over to a Samsung Smart TV.

Spotify’s announcement comes on the heels of Verizon announcing a partnership with Apple Music. New and current Verizon Unlimited customers will receive free six months of Apple Music.

The music streaming wars wage on; we just hope the war doesn’t cost us our precious music.

Salvatore Ganacci’s hilarious antics at Tomorrowland this year have become a viral sensation as videos across Facebook have been viewed millions of times already.

However, not everyone appreciates the break from the serious. Many have expressed legitimate frustration or rage at Ganacci’s antics, claiming that this is what people will think of EDM from now on.

But no person or publication has expressed as much rage as VICE, who published a new articled with the headline, “Please Enjoy This Absolute Shitshow of a DJ Set at Tomorrowland.” The article, which only has Noisey Staff as a byline, criticizes the performance for Ganacci’s devil may care attitude, and goes on to call Tomorrowland “one of the worst festivals in the world.” It’s obviously not.

VICE’s article is clearly either a shabby attempt to trigger Tomorrowland fans, or just a short-sighted and blind criticism. Salvatore Ganacci isn’t hurting anyone, and he’s certainly not representative of all dance music.

Finally, after years of ticket scalping and ticket bots worsening the state of the live music industry, a country has responded.

Ireland has passed legislation banning ticket scalping (defined as reselling tickets for more than face value) and ticket bots.

Quick disclosure: the legislation won’t ban ticket scalping from all events, just live music and sporting events at “designated venues” holding 1,000 or more attendees. The Cabinet of the Irish government passed the legislation, which still needs to be passed by the Dáil Éireann branch of the Irish government.

The legislation also bans the use of ticket bots outright. Ticket bots are often used by ticket scalpers to quickly snatch up tickets to scalp. So, this ban puts a significant dent in scalpers’ methods. Venues will have to apply for designation under the new legislation, and the Irish government’s standing Minister for Business will also be able to apply the legislation to specific venues to protect consumer interests.

Ireland, we tip our hat to you. Hopefully our American institutions can make similar moves to fight scalpers and bots in the future.

Streaming services have changed the music industry forever, and Spotify is one of the industry’s biggest innovators.

Their official playlists have become very influential, but major record labels are upset with them. Why? According to a Business Insider article, the labels want more of their music on Spotify’s playlists.

Business Insider received the tip from analysts at Deutsche Bank. According to the analysts, the three major record record labels—Sony, Warner and Universal—aren’t happy with Spotify’s playlists selection. Apparently the labels want more of their songs on the playlists, which now make up 30 percent of Spotify’s total plays. Ultimately, the labels fear losing influence as the playlists grow larger and more influential.

These may sound like crocodile tears to us regular people, and we’re curious how labels may respond to Spotify’s playlists in the future. Spotify’s curated playlists feature artists ranging from titans like Drake and Kanye West to relative unknowns and up-and-comers. The playlists help rising artists find an audience and get more popular, something labels have historically done for artists in the past. Will playlists impact labels from snagging rising artists? Perhaps.

Head over to Business Insider to read the full article (if you’re a prime user).